In today’s RCT Builder demo we’re creating a tool to move a device into a collection and automate the update/application of the associated machine policies. For this tool, I want to be able to select the collection and let SCCM take care of the rest. Be sure to watch the video below for a complete run-through.Continue reading “RCT Builder Demo: Collection and Update”

Recast 3.0 has not been released yet – we will post an announcement when the new tools are out.This blog will provide an overview of the latest features coming to both Recast RCT Free and Recast RCT Enterprise.

Local Group Members (RCT Free and RCT Enterprise)The System Information Tool now has a Local Group Members tab showing the users in each local group. Right clicking on a group will show a “Remove From Group” tool that will remove the selected user(s) from the selected group(s).Continue reading “Recast 3.0 Release Preview (Part 2)”

Recast 3.0 has not been released yet – we will post an announcement when the new tools are out. This blog will provide an overview of the latest features coming to both Recast RCT Free and Recast RCT Enterprise.

RCT Builder / RCT Runner (RCT Enterprise)The RCT Builder tool will let you right click on objects in the ConfigMgr console and create actions to be performed on those objects. The various properties of the object can be used as input to run multiple Recast actions.Continue reading “Recast 3.0 Release Preview (Part 1)”

The Recast 2.5 release is the first release that merges the free and enterprise versions into a single installer. Previously Recast RCT Free and Recast RCT Enterprise were separate downloads with independent code bases. Combining them allows us to more efficiently fix bugs and add features to both sets of tools. To accommodate this, there are significant changes to both Recast RCT Free and Recast RCT Enterprise. View the Recast 2.5 Release Webinar from Sept 12th for an in depth walk through of these updates and new features. Continue reading “Recast 2.5 Release Feature Preview”

Deploying an updated Office installation has always been an annoyance of mine. It is ideal to be able to deploy a fully updated Office installation so you don’t have to run a software update scan and then wait for all the office patches to download and install. Having to install less software updates can reduce your deployment or build and capture times significantly.

Purchasing imaged devices from vendors can be a hassle. Often times the images sent to the vendor need to be produced differently from the normal image deployment process, leading to extra work for the IT department. Additionally, the images the vendor uses are quickly out of date as new updates, drivers, or applications are applied to the image deployment process. In a typical VAR scenario, a vendor is given a point-in-time snapshot of the image. These snapshots work great for deploying to new systems, but they become out-of-date in short order. With ImageConnect, WIMs are no longer shipped manually to the vendor. We utilize your existing System Center Configuration Manager environment to make sure Now Micro’s production facility always has the most up-to-date version of your image. Since the devices are deployed in the same way as you would deploy them in house, they are ready to ship directly to the end user. When utilizing ImageConnect, the I.T. department no longer needs to finish the image deployment process in house by manually joining the domain, encrypting the devices, or running Windows updates.

Locking down devices can be a difficult task. Even when we take administrator permissions away, our users still find ways to defeat our best intentions. When we restrict things too much, we run the risk of making the device unusable. One way we could prevent configuration drift is by reverting the device to a known-good state at every reboot. There are many solutions that take this approach, but often times they fall short with ConfigMgr managed devices. When combining ConfigMgr with state reset software, administrators need to take extra precautions to ensure their devices are patched, have the latest malware definitions, and maintain healthy ConfigMgr clients. Often ConfigMgr administrators are forced to schedule unlock intervals to allow their workstations to receive these updates.

Are you currently spending an extensive amount of time to find folder paths within ConfigMgr device collections? In this blog post we will walk through three methods and demonstrate how using different data structures can decrease the time spent when querying for large amounts of data.

We have released Recast RCT Free 2.4. We appreciate all of the feedback given since the release of the 2.3 version of Recast RCT Free. We focused on improving the FQDN and DNS reverse lookup features based on that feedback. With the 2.4 release, we’ve added the ability to enable or disable each of these features in the Configure Right Click Tools menu.